Month: August 2014

The holiday weekend is finally here and we thought we would do something extra special. Instead of giving away one fabric bundle, we are giving away TWO bundles to one lucky winner. We’re giving away two 18″ x 21″ quarter cut bundles of our Watermark line. To enter to win, all you have to do is comment this post. You can also comment any link of this post on our Facebook page for an extra entry.

*Contest ends September 5th, 10:00 am EST. Open to US residents only.*

If you aren’t already, be sure to follow us on all our social media outlets for the latest updates on all things Studioe.

No matter how you slice it, I struggle to meet my blog deadlines with everything going on in our offices and just life. So here I am, Tuesday morning, with my Monday blog.

Last week, I attended a district/store manager show for one of the major retail chains. I had a table and explained to the attendees all the attributes of the fabrics that our companies were selling into the stores.

This is the third year that I attended the show. If you recall, during the first two shows I dressed up one time as a clown, using our costume satin fabric, and another time I dressed up as a woman in a polyester dress using our fabric as well. This year, I dressed up as a baby wearing a flannel jump suit that looked like a hazmat outfit. The only problem with the costume was that it was so hot inside that I almost fainted….literally. Check out the photo:

Anyway, the point of this blog is not to discuss the show. The point of this blog is discuss how quilt shops and fabric/retail chains can live in harmony. In my humble opinion, it is not about Them vs. Us, Big vs. Little or Goliath vs. David. It is more about the common goal that both the chains and the quilt shops have. That goal that I am referring to is to promote creativity and craftsmanship in the United States. Moreover, the goal is also to grow the crafting industry by promoting crafts to the younger generations so everyone can flourish long in to the future.

Of course, quilt shops and chains each have different and distinct positive and negative attributes. And, of course, some people have their preference of where they like to shop or where they could get a better deal or a better product. That is all good and well, but in the end it should not be about the competition (even though I know that is a factor), it should be about the common goal of promoting the great and creative industry that we are all so lucky to be a part of.

What do you think?

Enjoy what is left of the Summer!

Scott

P.S. Monday is a holiday, so I will be taking a much needed rest from my TOAFGTE blog.

We have something special for today’s giveaway! Today we’re giving away a fabric bundle we have yet to host a giveaway for. Do you like flannel? We hope so! We’re giving away one 18″ x 21″ quarter cut bundle of our Cotton Candy flannel line. To enter to win, all you have to do is comment this post. You can also comment any link of this post on our Facebook page for an extra entry.

*Contest ends August 29, 10:00 am EST. Open to US residents only.*

If you aren’t already, be sure to follow us on all our social media outlets for the latest updates on all things Studioe.

Today is August 18. Do you know why this day is so special? Today is my wife Laurie’s 35th birthday. In lieu of a card, Laurie is getting a birthday blog. Does it get any better than that? The timing of Laurie’s bday blog is perfect because (1) August has been quiet and I am a little short of material and (2) I am on the road today. I am going to that customer show where I dress up. This year I will be a baby…stay tuned.

Let me get back to the birthday blog because I don’t want to end up in the dog house. Laurie is an amazing wife, friend and mother. She has done such a great job raising our 2 energetic and sometimes psychotic boys. I know her job hasn’t been easy, but then again it isn’t so easy to write a blog once a week for the rest of your life.

Anyway, I am sure you are wondering what I am doing on the road for my wife’s bday. We were fortunate to have had the time to go upstate for a couple of days where we got in some nice R&R sans kids. A little recharge goes a long way and I hope Laurie enjoyed it as much as I did. So Laurie, happy birthday, luv ya!

Before I go, I wanted my fans to know that my family and I take charity very seriously. Not only do we donate fabric wherever we can, but we take pride in supporting various causes. As you may or may not have seen, there is a new mission to support ALS. As such, people are either pouring buckets of ice water over their heads or making donations to the cause. The challenge is going viral like a chain letter. Lo and behold, my son and I were challenged and we rose to the challenge. My baby joined too, to his utter shock.

So before you check out the video, I challenge all my blog readers to post a video on the Studioe Facebook page of you getting nailed with a bucket of ice water. None of this warm water nonsense, I want to see cubes. After you post it on FB (step 1), confirm your post by commenting on this blog (step 2). I will send a free fat quarter bundle to all that complete steps 1&2. If you are too much of a wimp to take the plunge, please consider a donation to an ALS charity or any charity for that matter. As the saying goes, “Together we can make a difference.”

Can’t wait to see your videos. Enjoy the rest of the Summer and get started on those holiday fabric projects.

Time for another Studioe Fabrics giveaway! This week we are giving away a bundle of our Cream and Sugar III fabric! We know how much you enjoy the line. To enter this giveaway you must follow us on Facebook and comment this post with what you would make with this fabric.

As always, follow us on social media for surprise extra chances to win!

I have some big news to report to you today. No, we are not buying another company at this time. We are about to unveil the Jaftex secret weapon that we have been cultivating in clandestine fabric training camps around the world. Drum roll please! I am proud to announce that my older brother, Greg, has joined the family business.

Greg had a brief stint in the family business around 20 years ago, but left after about a year to follow his dreams of being a stock trader. At that time, the fabric business was more about the chain stores, unlike today where it is more about the Quilt Shops the way our business is currently structured. That being said, Greg more or less is learning the business from scratch and is progressing very nicely.

Greg brings with him a wealth of business knowledge, analytical skills and managerial capabilities from his various jobs as both a trader and a business owner/manager. For our business, he brings a fresh perspective. Don’t underestimate the importance of a fresh perspective. After working in the same place for several years, it is sometimes hard to clear out all the preconceived notions to take a fresh, and much needed, look at a business. Every day, our team is filled with Greg’s observations and we definitely do have some ah-hah moments. Needless to say, we welcome Greg and his insights to the family business.

For me, I am happy to have another family member from the same generation. With all the advancements in technology nowadays, having Greg here will definitely help to expedite the transition to making Jaftex more technologically savvy. In addition, it will certainly be nice to have another confidante around and of course it will be nice to spend more time with my brother. The most important thing about having Greg here is that I can pawn off the job of firing my dad on him. Ha, ha, ha! I crack myself up.

The only other thing that I can say is that I hope you take some time to introduce yourself to Greg the next time you see him at market or travelling the US on sales calls. Thank you for welcoming him to the team.

Remember the beautiful Pearle fabric we gave away a few weeks ago? It’s back! We’re giving away one 18″ x 21″ quarter cut bundle of our Pearle line. To enter to win, all you have to do is comment this post. You can also comment any link of this post on our Facebook page for an extra entry.

*Contest ends August 15, 10:00 am EST. Open to US residents only.*

If you aren’t already, be sure to follow us on all our social media outlets for the latest updates on all things Studioe.

I survived the rainy weekend (ice skating, Planes movie, golf, basketball, playing with cousins, BBQ’s and the dreaded Dave & Busters) with my extremely energetic boys and I am ready to blog it up today. So the subject of the day is going to be honesty.

In business especially, honesty is the best policy. I try to instill honesty upon employees and hopefully this is a policy you follow yourself in work and life. To be one that blurs the truth, is a straight out liar or even a pathological liar is not a good quality at all, but the bigger issue is that it isn’t an easy task to be a liar, unless you are a really good liar. Not an admirable quality at all unless, of course, you are a career criminal. Hopefully, I don’t have any blog fans in that category. The biggest problem of all is that one lie leads to the next lie and the next lie and before you know it, reality and lies start to blur. And then, you get BUSTED! Caught in the act of lying and it is all over for you. The theory is, once a liar, always a liar and then you are the person that no one trusts again and that most likely proves to be fatal.

Every now and again I get an email or phone call where someone is asking for advice on handling an issue. When the options are reviewed, the approaches that I am presented with are either, tell the truth, give a white or lie straight out. When this happens, I ALWAYS say to the person on the other end that honesty is the best policy. When I say that to the other person, I almost always hear back from them shortly thereafter that they took my advice and it resulted in a positive outcome. Imagine that? Maybe honesty really is the best policy. Please note that it is never too late to embrace this policy.

Honestly (ha!), I have to go deal with the 40 emails I received over the weekend. Have a great week! Talk to you next Monday.